Breaking Through The Cage Of "Other"

Maya Angelou is a famous contemporary African American woman writer. IKnow Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first one of her series of autobiographies andalso the most influential one. This thesis will analyze African American womencharacters in the novel from the perspective of postcolonial criticism and feministcriticism and discuss their struggles against “Otherness”. African Americans areforced to endure the white racial persecution and cultural hegemony, thus become theracial “Other”. While black women also have to suffer from the traditional patriarchy,which deprives their autonomy of body and imposes the stereotypes upon them, thusthe African American women become the gender “Other”. They become helpless andmiserable under such situation. However, through passive endurance would onlymake them be trapped in the cage of “Other” forever, so the self-consciousness of thewomen characters in the autobiography make them struggle for getting out of the“Otherness”. The protagonist Marguerite processes strong resisting spirit againstracism and through constant efforts, she successfully gets equal work opportunity asthe white people. Through appreciating black beauty and holding a new objectiveperspective toward Christianity and God, she subverts the white cultural hegemony tosome extent. Through searching for the “Third Space”, she has a harmoniousrelationship with the white, thus shows the possibility of breaking the binaryopposition between the white and the black. The awakening of female consciousnessmakes Marguerite regain her autonomy of body. Grandmother Henderson realizeseconomic independence through her own hands and Mother Vivian is autonomic inher marriage without being confined by her husband. They break the stereotypeswhich are imposed by the traditional patriarchy. They also get love from men; itreflects the possibility of harmony between the two genders. Only through their ownefforts and breaking the traditional binary opposition between the white and black races, between the male and female genders, can African American women breakthrough the cage of “Other” and regain freedom.